The Spirit of Antichrist - Smyrna Gospel Ministries ... Spirit of AntiChrist.pdf · The Spirit of...

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phone: (304) 732-9204

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Restoration Ministries

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Phone: (876) 904-7392


The SpiritThe Spiritof

Antichrist

A Histo

ry of the

Develo

the reality is that they don’t even know what they are worshiping.

Satan is the one who takes advantage of this ignorance and receives

this worship.

I want you to consider that the majority of those who are called

Christians are actually possessed, in this teaching, of the spirit of

antichrist, including those who call themselves Seventh-day

Adventists, if they hold to the beliefs of the denomination as they are

defined today.

A WORTHWHILE PROJECT

What I am saying, finally, is this: Let us pray that God will help us so

that for the rest of our lives we might work to exalt this truth about

who God is, with single-minded devotion. We cannot exhaust the

subject because the Lord tells us that we will study it for all eternity.

There are different angles and avenues to this subject, and every other

truth if it is truth, including the sanctuary truth, must harmonize with

this teaching. I intend to search that out. But I am saying to you

brothers, and sisters as well, let us study it out for ourselves and as we

find it to be true, take up the project of promoting it far and wide. The

first angel’s message says, “fear God and give glory to Him.” There is

something there about who God is; about whom the TRUE God is and

how He ought to be worshiped that is the focus of the message of the

last time. Therefore, let us study the subject and if you think it is

worthwhile, take up this project of promoting the worship of the only

true God.

God wants people who will stand up for His truth in this time, and if

we don’t do something soon we just might be among the most

enlightened people in the lake of fire. It is not those who are ever

learning who will be saved, but it is those who are ever putting into

practice what they learn. At the last day God will not ask you what you

learned, but what you did! So I hope that we will remember this, and I

hope that God will help us to understand these truths better and to live

by them.

- 22 -

The Spiritof

AntichristBy

Pastor David Clayton

Published by


HC 64 Box 128B

Welch, WV 24801-9606

phone: (304) 732-9204


And




Phone: (876) 904-7392


It says that the Father and the Son moved from a certain place and

went into another place. Some people (Christians!) remained in the

first place, praying to God … they were praying to God! They were

calling His name; they were directing their prayers upwards, yet what

happened? Satan presented himself and began to answer their prayers

and to pour out a spirit upon them. They were praying to God and yet

Satan was being permitted to answer their prayers and to enshroud

them in darkness. Why? Because their worship was not according to

the light which God had revealed. They were attempting to worship

God, but in contradiction to revealed truth! Because of that, Satan

presented himself to answer their prayers and to receive their worship.

He used the opportunity.

What I am saying is that it is not a light thing to pray to a person who

does not exist. It is not a light thing to be praying to God in a way that

is contrary to His revelation. Today when you see people praying for

the “Holy Spirit” and being filled with a spirit that is strange and

ungodlike, you have to realize that something very serious is

happening. Can it be that this “Holy Spirit” manifestation is the great

agency by which Satan will receive worship in the world in the last

days?

Now that is a striking, startling thought. But when I look at the

scriptures, and even at these facts concerning the Hindu trinity, and

see so clearly the identity of Shiva, I am frightened. Chills run down

my spine. There was a time in my life when I tried to pray to the Holy

Spirit. Any of you who have ever tried this will find that it is very

difficult. You cannot truly pray to, and become acquainted with, a

being who does not exist. All you will have to depend on is your own

imagination, and this is a very poor substitute for reality. I tried it

because I thought that I should pray to the Holy Spirit. I thought that

he was another person in the godhead like the Father and the Son, so

why should I neglect him? In reality, I could not break through to God

and was in danger of making contact with another being with whom I

wish to have nothing to do!

The Scriptures do not teach that the Holy Spirit is a separate Being

from the Father and the Son. When Jesus says, “the comforter will

come,” He explains what He means by saying, “I will come.” (See

- 20 -

The Spirit of AntichristA ROTTEN EGG?

Because of promoting the truth about the gospel I have lost a few

friends. I have received a few letters that have severely chastised me

for my point of view. In fact, one brother wrote to say that when he did

not hear from me for a while he realized that I was taking a long time

to hatch this “rotten egg,” as he called it. This has caused me to pray a

great deal.

From the beginning I realized that anytime you stand up for what

you believe is true, if it is true, then there are some who will support

you and some who will oppose, and that is the way it should be, so I

was not surprised. As a human being you can’t help feeling somewhat

disappointed when somebody who has been your friend turns against

you, like this brother in Australia who had been my friend for quite a

few years and who wrote and compared the doctrine to a rotten egg. I

could feel the difference in the letter that he wrote. I could feel the

barrier that had come up between us, and these things always affect

you on a personal level even though in your mind you are still

convinced that the direction that you are taking is true.

How do you know that it is true? Because you and God know what

is happening between you both in those quiet hours when there is

nobody else around. You know it is true because of this and also

because it is based on the facts of what you study in the Word of God.

Nevertheless, once again I return to the subject and I don’t want you

to think that it is a desire to simply push my point of view or to stir up

more controversy. It’s just that what has been in my mind as I have

searched and prayed cannot be held back. As Paul cried, “woe is me if I

preach not the gospel.”

DEFINITIONS

At the beginning there are certain facts that I would like us to get clear

so that we may proceed on the right footing. Let us decide on certain

definitions right at the start.

- 1 -

The first thing that I want us to settle is the question, Who is the

antichrist of Scripture? Of Prophecy? Can we give him a name?

Yes we can. The antichrist is the Pope, or the Papacy, which is the

dynasty of Popes. We can all agree on that. The antichrist of Bible

prophecy—2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 13, and Daniel 7—is the

Papacy.

An interesting thing about this antichrist is that the Bible says that

the antichrist will manifest himself in the temple of God, and although

it has often been suggested that this temple of God refers to St. Peter’s

Cathedral in the Vatican, those who study the Bible realize that St.

Peter’s is not the temple of God but is rather a pagan temple, and the

temple of God refers rather to the Christian Church. (See Ephesians

2:19-22.)

Within the boundaries of the Christian church there would arise an

institution, or a dynasty, which would go by the name “Christian” but

would be opposed to the very foundation principles of Christianity.

Now that we have set that foundation let us move on a bit.

Let us turn to 1 John chapter 2 and read verses 18 and 19:

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist

shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know

that it is the last time.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of

us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that

they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

There are two points that I would like to make on the basis of these

two verses. First of all, we can see clearly that it was an understood

teaching; it was an understood prophecy in the days of the apostles

that someone would come who would be called the antichrist. But it

said now that “already” antichrists were going out from them. Was

John talking about this final, ultimate antichrist? No, but he meant that

already there were some who had the same spirit and teaching of the

final antichrist who were going out from among the Christians. When

he said they “went out from us,” I believe what he meant was not

necessarily a literal walking out of the congregation and a separation

from the fellowship, but rather that they were moving away from the

- 2 -

stating your wish. It will be granted to you on the third day, no matter

how difficult. Promise to publish the prayer as soon as your wish is

granted. “Thank you Holy Spirit.”

Now although this seems to be a fine prayer with nice sentiments,

this is not the way of God. This is the way of the Obeah man or the

witch doctor! You can get anything you want! Just say this prayer

three times. Who prays that way? Pagans. This is vain repetition. Just

repeat these words over and over and you will have your answer. This

is a prayer addressed to somebody other than God, no matter how

good and beautiful the sentiments may be that are expressed in it.

What happens when you pray with a false concept of God, or of His

work and purposes? Do you remember what Ellen White wrote in

Early Writings, page 54?

Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from the Father to the Son,

and from the Son it waved over the people before the throne. But few

would receive this great light. Many came out from under it and

immediately resisted it; others were careless and did not cherish the

light, and it moved off from them. Some cherished it, and went and

bowed down with the little praying company. This company all received

the light and rejoiced in it, and their countenances shone with its glory.

I saw the Father rise from the throne and in a flaming chariot go into

the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from

the throne, and the most of those who were bowed down arose with Him.

I did not see one ray of light pass from Jesus to the careless multitude

after He arose, and they were left in perfect darkness … Then a cloudy

chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to

where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the

holiest, where the Father sat. . . . Those who rose up with Jesus would

send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, “My Father, give us

Thy Spirit.” Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In

that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.

I turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the

throne; they did not know that Jesus had left it. Satan appeared to be by

the throne, trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to the

throne, and pray, “Father, give us Thy Spirit.” Satan would then

breathe upon them an unholy influence; in it there was light and much

power, but no sweet love, joy, and peace.

- 19 -

Again this is startlingly like Christianity. Strangely, the second

member of the Hindu trinity is believed to have been incarnated or

born as a human being several times, with the most outstanding

incarnation being Krishna, and the word Krishna sounds amazingly

like Christ. So again, the similarity is startling.

Now please remember, as we go to the third member of the Hindu

trinity, what I said. Satan reveals himself more openly in paganism

than in Christianity. Let us now go to the third god of the Hindu trinity.

ShivaHindu god of destruction ….

Shiva differs in character from Vishnu. He has a dark and grim side

to his nature ... Shiva is often described as lurking in horrible places

such as battlefields and cemeteries. In sculpture he is often shown

wearing a garland of skulls and surrounded by evil spirits as he dances

the grim dance by which he destroys the world. (Ibid.)

In Hinduism, a pagan religion where Satan manifests himself

openly, the third person of the godhead is the god of death and

destruction!

However, in Christianity, Satan would not dare to reveal himself so

openly. In order to deceive Christians Satan must insinuate himself

more cunningly. Here, if he revealed himself in his true identity, he

would be repulsed and shunned in horror. So instead, he has invented a

third being who does not exist and in this way he has created an

avenue through which he may be worshiped.

On most Sundays the following prayer to the Holy Spirit appears in

the Jamaican newspaper, The Sunday Gleaner:

“Holy Spirit, thou who make me to see everything and show me the

way to reach my ideals. You who give the divine gifts to forgive and

forget any wrong done to me and who are in all instances in my life

with me. Help me to do no wrong to anyone. In this short dialogue I

want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never

want to be separated from you, no matter how great the material

desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones when Jesus

comes. Amen.” Say this prayer for three consecutive days without

- 18 -

teachings of the truth. They could have been sitting in worship right

there, but they were embracing other doctrines, so he says, “they went

out from us,” meaning that their minds were being turned away from

the truth. They were embracing satanic teachings, so he said, “there

are many antichrists.” They had the very spirit and principles of this

final antichrist of prophecy.

So the second point is that there are certain teachings which are

peculiar to the antichrist, teachings which are the chief identifying

marks of the antichrist, and those who embrace these teachings and

principles may also be said to be antichrists.

THE TEACHINGS OF ANTICHRIST

What are these teachings, these principles of antichrist? There are

three places in the Bible which mention these teachings specifically.

Let us look at the following verses which show us three specific

teachings of this antichrist. Continuing in the same chapter, 1 John

chapter 2 and verses 22-23:

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is

antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the

Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son

hath the Father also.

Again I see two points in those two verses which I want to highlight.

First of all, John says the first thing about the antichrist is he denies

that Jesus is the Christ. He is a liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ.

Secondly, he says that the antichrist denies the Father and the Son.

“Whosoever denies the Son, the same hath not the Father.”

What did he mean when he said that the antichrist denies the Son?

He said, “The antichrist will deny the Son.” How do you deny the Son?

How can a person deny the Son of God? It can only be by refusing to

acknowledge Him to be the Son of God. John says, “in this same way,

you also deny the Father,” because you deny Him to be the Father of

Jesus. Now let us just quickly look at chapter 4 and verse 15 to make

sure that we are not taking a wrong tangent in this interpretation.

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth

in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15)

- 3 -

So verse fifteen really explains the one which we read before where

it says that the antichrist would deny the Son. “Whosoever shall

confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in

God.” Clearly, there are two things that would characterize the

antichrist teaching. Firstly, the antichrist teaching would deny that

Jesus is the Christ, and secondly, that Jesus is the Son of God. It would

claim that Jesus is not the Son of God.

Now there is also a third teaching of the antichrist. Let us look at 1

John 4:1-3. It says:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are

of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

John says, “don’t believe everybody that calls the name of Christ;

don’t believe everybody that says, ‘I am a Christian,’ or even who

says, ‘I am a reformer.’ There is a rule by which you can know the true

follower of God, and the follower of Satan.” He says, “there is a rule

which you can use.” He does not say, “it is because they keep the

commandments.” He does not say, “it is because they keep the

Sabbath.” He does not say, “it is because of the place where they

worship.” Look at the simple rule that he gives us by which we may

identify the spirit of truth as opposed to the spirit of antichrist:

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that

Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that

confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and

this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should

come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)

Now remember, we said at the very beginning that the great

antichrist of prophecy is the papacy. We are all agreed on that. Now

here are three marks which the Bible tells us are the marks of antichrist

and, according to our interpretation of prophecy, we are to look for

these marks in the papacy.

� Point number one: A denial that Jesus is the Christ, or God’s

special, anointed One.

� Point number two: A denial that Jesus is the Son of God.

� Point number three: A denial that Jesus Christ actually came in the

flesh.

- 4 -

PAGANISM REVEALS THE TRUTH!

Now Satan wanted from the beginning to be a member of the godhead.

For his presumptuousness, God cast him out of heaven. But down here

on earth Satan has more carefully and subtly worked to achieve the

same goal by insinuating his ideas into the thinking of men. In

paganism, which is more openly under the control of Satan, more

evidently controlled by satanic principles and philosophies, where he

reveals himself fully and openly, I have found something that is

frightening. If I wasn’t startled before this, I certainly was frightened

when I discovered this.

I first found this information in Webster’s New World Dictionary,

and subsequently found essentially the same information in several

encyclopedias, including Collier’s and Compton’s. I looked up the

word Trinity and found that there is a trinity in the Buddhist belief, a

trinity in the belief of ancient Egypt, (Isis, Horus and Seb), and there is

a trinity in the Hindu religion. I didn’t know that. I thought the Hindus

worshiped a million gods, but apparently these lesser gods in the

Hindu religion, such as Hanuman the monkey god and Ganesh the

elephant god, are something like the saints and holy men who are

venerated by the Catholic Church. But they believe in this supreme

trio of three gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Brahma1. the supreme and eternal essence or spirit of the universe

2. the chief member of the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva) and

creator of the universe. (A Book of Beliefs by Allan, Butterworth &

Langley)

This sounds just like God the Father and, but for the name, we

Christians could almost go with that as a description of God, the

Father.

Vishnuthe second member of the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva), called

the Preserver and popularly held to have had several human

incarnations, most important of which is Krishna. (Ibid.)

- 17 -

and the Son to enhance their plans for creating the world and

mankind? Could he, perhaps, by adding his power to God’s power,

have helped in making the creation of the world easier? Of course not!

So why would he want to go into a planning counsel when he had

nothing to offer? Why? The only thing that Satan could have achieved

by getting into that counsel is that his image would have been

enhanced. It would have given the impression that he was on equality

with God and His Son; in fact, it would have made it appear that he

himself was worthy of worship. This was really what Satan was after!

He wanted to be glorified. He wanted to be worshiped as God. He had

nothing to offer, absolutely nothing. He only wanted to get in there

because he wanted an opportunity to be exalted and to be worshiped.

Because of his presumptuousness, Lucifer was kicked out of

heaven. What do you think his main desire has been since he came to

this world? Have his ambitions changed since he came to live among

men? No! His goals remain the same, and he has carried on the same

campaign for worship here in this world. According to the Bible he

will have his worship here on planet earth because Revelation 13:4

says: “And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the

beast.” Now you know, when they worship the dragon they don’t fall

down on their faces and say, “hail Satan!”

Whose name is it that they actually call upon? It is God’s name! But

in actual fact they are worshiping Satan! Why? Because they are

worshiping God in the wrong way! This is similar to what Paul says.

He says, look here; I don’t want you to eat food which has been

sacrificed unto idols. Now we know that an idol is nothing in the

world. But the things that the gentiles offer unto idols they offer unto

devils, and I don’t want you to have fellowship with devils.” (See 1

Corinthians 8:4; 10:19, 20.)

You may know that there is no meaning to the idol or to the worship

services dedicated to the idol, but you cannot mix up with idolaters or

participate in their rituals. They think they are worshiping God, but

actually it is devils who are answering their prayers and who they are

dealing with, so you have nothing to do with them. And he shows us

that even though we are Christians it is dangerous to be mixed up with

a false philosophy and a false idea.

- 16 -

Now we need to look at these three teachings and see how they

destroy the very foundations of Christianity.

Denial #1

Let us examine first, point number one: why is that point so

important? Why is the fact that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Anointed

One, so important? It is because Jesus Christ is the one who represents

the Father more fully than any other being anywhere in the universe. If

you want to know what the Father is like, where must you look? You

look at Jesus. You look at God’s Christ. Yet this can only be a blessing

to you if you really believe that Jesus is God’s complete revelation of

Himself.

Now the Muslims say that Christ was a great prophet; so was

Abraham; so was Jacob, but they say that the final and the greatest

prophet was Mohammed. They deny that Jesus is God’s anointed One,

and because of that when you talk about the love that Jesus preached

and the principles of forgiveness displayed in His life, it means little to

a Muslim, because Mohammed preached violence and waged war

against his enemies. They think that Mohammed is a greater

revelation of God than Jesus, so the blessing that comes from

beholding Christ is not available to them. This teaching that Jesus is

not the Christ hits at the very foundation of the Christian faith. If a man

were to go around saying that Jesus was not the Anointed One of God,

he would be attacking Christianity at its very foundation. He would be

destroying the power of the life and teachings of Christ to help

anyone. We can see then, why it is so vital that we understand this

truth that Jesus is God’s Christ and why John said that the spirit of

antichrist would be opposed to it.

Denial #2

Let us look at teaching number two: the truth that Jesus is the actual

Son of God. Now what is the greatest revelation that can come to any

Christian and, in fact, to any person on the earth, or in the entire

universe for that matter? What is the greatest thing which we need to

understand about God? Is it not His love? His love which found its

greatest expression in the outpouring of itself on behalf of sinful men.

- 5 -

There is nothing more wonderful in the entire universe. There is no

subject which is more important for a person to understand than the

love of God. Let us ask ourselves a question: where do we see the

greatest revelation of the love of God? How can we discern it? Let us

read what the scriptures say:

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God

sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through

him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and

sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9,10)

Now is that plain enough? It says, “this is how God’s love is

manifested, or revealed, or made known. You can know the love of

God by the fact that He sent His only begotten Son into the world.”

However, if we say that Jesus is not the only begotten Son of God does

it change the meaning of that text? Does it change the demonstration

of God’s love? Suppose God gave a friend, or whoever Jesus might

have been. If He were not the only begotten Son of God would it

change the force of the message? The verse says, This is how God’s

love is manifested; in the gift that He gave; by the value of that gift.

If somebody is getting married and I give that person a gift of a

thousand dollars while another person gives a two-week holiday

somewhere, are the gifts the same? What I mean is, the extent of a

person’s regard for you may be determined by the extent to which he is

willing to sacrifice for your sake, isn’t that right? God’s love can be

measured by the kind of gift that He gave. The Bible says, “this is how

you may know His love: by the fact that He gave His only begotten

Son for you.”

So here come some people who say, “Jesus was not actually the Son

of God.” What are they doing?!! They are destroying the very

foundation of the Christian faith; they are making it impossible for

people to appreciate the love of God; they are destroying—they are

attacking Christianity at its very roots, and John says, “this is the spirit

of antichrist.”

- 6 -

writing where it says there were three in that counsel? Zechariah 6:13

says:

... the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

Of course this refers to another counsel between the Father and the

Son, (the Hebrew word translated “both” means two) but even in that

pre-creation counsel, if you examine it from the Bible or the writings

of Ellen White, you cannot find one single piece of evidence to say

that there were three persons. There is no such evidence. Over and

over we are made to understand that it was a counsel between Father

and Son.

The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of

beneficence. He had an associate – a co-worker who could appreciate

His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created

beings. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.”

John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with

the eternal Father – one in nature, in character, in purpose – the only

being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.

(Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34)

It is said that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the godhead in the

same manner that the Father and Son are, but strangely, either he was

not in the counsel or Satan was not jealous of his position!!

The truth is that there were only two persons in that counsel.

Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that

none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter into His

purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels

of His will. (Patriarchs and Prophets p.36)

However, there was one person who felt that there should be three

persons. This person wanted to be the third member of the counsel. He

felt that he should have been in there, and this person was Satan.

WHAT DID SATAN WANT?

Let us just look at an interesting little angle to Satan’s ambitions. Did

Satan have any ideas that he could give to God? I mean to say, were

there insights and suggestions that he could have made to the Father

- 15 -

like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high

priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of

the people. (Hebrews 2:16,17)

The point here is that if He was not made exactly like His brethren

He cannot be a merciful and faithful High Priest.

For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to

succour them that are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

God cannot be tempted. Where does it say that? James 1:13. God

cannot be tempted. You cannot tempt a Being who sees the end from

the beginning, but Christ was truly tempted, so the scriptures say, and

He had to be tempted in order that He could succour, or help us. He

had to be human, He had to be subject to death in order that He could

die for our sakes. It was not a sham or a pretense. But the trinity

doctrine, I say, attacks these foundational truths, therefore, it is the

teaching of antichrist.

More Apostasy

However, the apostasy does not stop there. I was interested to find out

that from the very beginning it was Satan’s desire to be worshiped like

God. We all know the story. Isaiah 14 brings out that point very

clearly where Satan says,

…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon

the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend

above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah

14:13,14)

Now let me ask you: from the very beginning of Satan’s rebellion in

heaven what was Satan’s bone of contention? Specifically, what was

the incident that sparked his rebellion against God?

The issue was that he was not called to participate in the counsel

between God and Christ that planned the creation of the world and

man.

How many Beings were in that counsel? Three? Can we find one

piece of evidence to say it was three? Is there anywhere in any inspired

- 14 -

Denial #3

Now on to point number three. The antichrist says that Jesus Christ

did not come in the flesh. Think for a moment on this point. John says

there were people who were saying that Christ did not come in the

flesh. What were they insinuating when they said that? What did they

mean by that? In what form then did He come? What kind of being

was He? They were teaching that He was a supernatural being. He was

not a normal man with the limitations of a normal human being, but

was rather a supernatural being who could not be tempted as we are

tempted, who could not really die as we die, but was one outside of the

realm of human experience. He did not come “in the flesh.”

ROMAN CATHOLICISM’S

KEY DOCTRINE

Can you see why we are examining these verses today? There is a

teaching, which is the foundational doctrine of Roman Catholicism,

which embodies all three of these dangerous heresies. We are all

aware of this teaching, but let us read it again. Many times when

people are defending the Sabbath they pick up the writings of the

Roman Catholic Church and read where the Catholic Church boasts,

“we changed the Sabbath,” and they make a big thing of it. Let us also

read from the writings of the Catholic Church as we examine this

issue. In the book Catholicism we read the following statement:

Unless (people) keep this Faith whole and undefiled, without doubt

(they) shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic faith is this: we

worship one God in Trinity.

Now the Roman Catholic institution is the organization which

embodies the whole system of the antichrist, and in Catholicism you

should expect to find the essence of the spirit of antichrist. What does

the Roman Catholic Church claim as the whole foundation of her

faith; as the fundamental basis upon which her doctrines are

established? The Catholic Church says, “the Catholic faith is this: we

worship one God in Trinity.”

In the Handbook For Today’s Catholic, on page 16, we find these

words:

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The mystery of the trinity is the central doctrine of Catholic faith. On

it are based all the other teachings of the Church.

Those are striking words from the writings of the Roman Catholic

Church itself.

THE TRINITY DOCTRINE DENIES THREE

TRUTHS CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST

Does the trinity doctrine deny these three essential truths concerning

Jesus Christ, thereby demonstrating that it is the very embodiment of

the doctrine of antichrist?

Do you know what are the two great movements in the world in

these last days that Satan will use in the effort to destroy God’s

people? Can we give them a name? Yes we can. They are apostate

Christianity and neo-paganism, otherwise called modern spiritualism

in the form of the New Age Movement. These are the two great forces

that the devil will use to work against God and His truth in these last

days. These basically are the two great antichristian powers on the

earth in these last days.

Interestingly, those who know anything about the New Age

Movement will realize that the New Age Movement denies that Jesus

is the Christ. The people who belong to this movement are looking for

a messiah to come in the year 2000. Years ago when I was in college,

one of the tutors was an apostle of this New Age messiah. He spent a

great deal of his time trying to convince people that a saviour would

arrive on earth in the year 1999, named Sananda, who would lead the

world into a thousand years of enlightenment and peace. He would be

the next Christ.

Most of those in the New Age movement and the eastern religions

believe in a recycling of the ages; an endless repetition of the cycles of

life for all eternity. And they believe that Jesus was just one of many

messiahs who would arrive on the scene from time to time. They

believe that God’s revelation of Himself changes with the revelation

of each new messiah, and that there are still greater revelations of the

“Christ-Spirit” to come.

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Now let us turn to the book of Hebrews and examine another text

which also makes it clear why it is so important to correctly

understand this matter. Let us go to Hebrews 2:9:

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the

suffering of death….

Why was Christ made lower than the angels? FOR THE

SUFFERING OF DEATH! So that He could die! When Christ came

to the earth, one of the main reasons why He actually became a man

was so that He could really die. So let us ask another question: What is

death? It’s a cessation of life. It’s a separation of body and spirit and it

puts the dead person in such a state that he knows nothing, remembers

nothing, has nothing to do with anything at all, because His body and

mind have ceased to function. Now if this teaching of the Trinitarians

that Jesus Christ raised Himself from the dead is true, then what it

means is that Christ did not really die, or that death is not really an

unconscious sleep. An unconscious person cannot raise himself from

the dead! This is another of those confusing doctrines which is the

fruit of the Trinitarian belief. This doctrine, in fact, gives strength to

the teachings of spiritualism, and in particular to the belief that death

is really a state of conscious existence in which a person retains all his

faculties of mind and consciousness, simply exchanging this fleshly

state for another less tangible. Let us continue to examine the verse. It

says:

… crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God

should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)

Now, if Jesus Christ died for every man, it is obvious that the death

which He died is the death which every man should have died. The

death that we should die is a cessation of life. If Jesus did not die that

death, it means that he did not really die for men. Can you see how the

whole plan of salvation is being made out to be just a sham by this

doctrine? To be just a form; just a cleverly acted play without any

substance or reality to it.

Let us go down to verse 16 of the same chapter. It says:

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels but he took on him

the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made

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love Him and to try to believe that He loves me, though my reason

really cannot appreciate or understand in what way his love for me

was so exceptionally manifested when Jesus went to the cross. Firstly,

He was not really God’s Son, and secondly, He did not really die. So

where is the sacrifice which God made?” Do we need to be reminded

again? “You don’t rule your beliefs. Your beliefs rule you.” This is

why we live in a generation of Christians who don’t love God, because

they don’t understand the love of God.

What is the reason why we fall into sin so often in spite of our desire

to do otherwise? Why is it that in spite of our desire to glorify God, we

let Him down over and over again? I am discovering that there is only

one reason: We don’t love Him enough. The Scripture says, “We love

Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) It says, “the love of

Christ constraineth us.” (2 Cor 5:14) And yet we find that the

knowledge of the love of God in Christ is not powerful enough to keep

us from committing sin, and we must realize that something is wrong.

We are not seeing God’s love properly.

Satan has succeeded in blinding the world to the greatest truth

which men need to understand, and that is why this is the teaching of

antichrist! It has worked insidiously for the better part of two thousand

years to blind the world to the greatest truth that it so desperately

needs–the revelation of the measure of the love of God.

This is the reason why we must not leave this subject alone, because

we are told that the cross will be the “science and song of the

redeemed” for all the ages of eternity. What God did for me through

Christ will be my study, and I tell you the truth, I could never see the

wonder in it. It totally eluded me until I came to see the truth about the

godhead. I had to realize that it was truly His own, only begotten Son

that God gave. I had to realize that this Son really died. I had to realize

that when Christ was on earth He was limited as all men are. He was

not possessed of the powers of the omnipotent God who knew all

things. He was not the Almighty God. How could the Almighty God

say to Himself, “my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” I mean what a

sham and a pretense the whole thing becomes if we look at it through

the eyes of the doctrine of the trinity!

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In the New Age concept, the Christ is a human being who is

possessed of the divine influence, or the “Christ Spirit,” in a marked

manner–not somebody who is a once-and-for-all-time revelation of

God; not really the actual, literal Son of the Almighty God. In this

concept, there can be many Christs or sons of God. This teaching

clearly denies that Jesus is THE Christ.

According to this teaching the only way in which Jesus could have

been the Son of God was in the sense that the spirit or substance or

essence of God dwelt in Him. He would have been a man who was

indwelt by the God-substance, thus making Him the “Son of God” for

the earthly period of His existence. He was the Son of God, not by

virtue of who He was intrinsically, but rather by virtue of the fact that

an emanation from God rested upon Him. His human identity was not

really who He was, but was actually, simply a body which the

“Christ-Spirit” inhabited. When the body died the divine spirit

departed so that only a human being died. Logically, any other human

being, similarly possessed by the divine spirit, could also be the

Christ, or the “Son of God.”

Obviously, this teaching would lead to the conclusion that the man

Christ Jesus, was a different individual from the being called the

second person of the godhead. Jesus was not one person,

divine/human because of His origin, but was rather two persons,

inhabiting one body and sharing the same identity.

Unhappily, the doctrine of the trinity has led many Christians to

adopt a concept of the incarnation of Christ which is very similar to

the teaching of the New Age religions. Many Christians today teach

that on Calvary the human part of Jesus died but the “divine part” did

not die. Does this not suggest that Jesus was not one person, but two,

and that the incarnation was not a divine being becoming human, but

rather a divine being sharing a body with a human being.

Clearly see that this abominable teaching is the result of an attempt

to make sense of the Trinitarian doctrine.

In essence the doctrine of the trinity, as taught by many Christian

denominations, teaches that God is one Entity or Substance which is

actually three Beings. These three persons who make up the one God

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are equally immortal; they cannot die. They are equally eternal; none

is older than the other. They are equally omnipotent; they are all

completely, equally and absolutely powerful in every respect—all

three of them. Now by this definition, if Jesus Christ is the Son of God

it is only by name, because since they are the same age none was

before the other. Jesus Christ could not, therefore, have been God’s

Son.

Another version of the trinity claims that God is really one Being

who manifests Himself in three ways so that Father, Son and Holy

Spirit are really all the same person. Note the following statement of

an Adventist author:

...In OT revelation, as Yahweh Christ was the Father. In the NT He

who was first called “Father” fulfilled another role in which He is

called the “Son”. In biblical testimony the same Jesus is both Father

and Son, but at different times...

The Father and Son do not exist as separate beings, they coexist as

one God... (The Trinity Debate - Part One, by V.R. Christensen)

We see clearly how, from another angle, this doctrine of the trinity

attacks the true identity of Jesus Christ and makes a lie of the truth that

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This doctrine destroys the reality of

that statement and makes God into a person who does not say what He

means. The measure of God’s love is the fact that He gave His Son.

Yet this doctrine clearly says He did not give His Son!

Officially, if you go to these churches and you ask to see their

statement of beliefs, you will see as one of their doctrines, “God gave

His Son to die for mankind.” But in actual fact, by the teaching and

definition of another of their doctrines, that of the trinity, you are to

understand that though God says He gave His Son to die you are not to

really believe that He did because Jesus was not actually His

Son—someone whom He had the authority to give or to withhold.

You are not to believe He really did die, because He could not really

die (for God cannot die). So in actual fact we say one thing, but we

believe something else. Let me tell you something. You don’t rule

your beliefs. Your beliefs rule you! In consequence, I, for twenty-one

years of my Christian life, could not appreciate Calvary. I couldn’t

appreciate or understand what God did for me there.

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I am not a hypocrite. By nature I am not a hypocrite. I seek for the

reality of things. When I read a Bible text I try to find out what it is

saying for me! When I read something I want to get a proper

understanding of it! Why does God say He gave his Son when it

wasn’t really His Son whom He gave? Why did He say His Son died

for my sins if He really didn’t die? What kind of double talk is that?

You know, in all of this I hear the echo of the voice of a person who

many years ago asked the question: “Yea, hath God said…?” I hear an

echo of the voice of that person in this teaching. “God says one thing

but He means something else. You can’t really deal with God. You

can’t really understand what God is doing; don’t bother to try. Don’t

bother to put your puny minds to it. God is much bigger than you, and

He is really just playing with you little mortals down here. It is safest

to keep at a distance from Him.” I hear an echo of that voice and those

sentiments in this teaching.

John 3:16, the Trinitarian way: Do you know what it says really? I

am not trying to be amusing. I am trying to be realistic.

For God… [For the one God, who is really three persons. The first

confusing idea.]

so loved the world that He gave His Son [gave His Son to die…. who

did not really die]

gave His only begotten Son [who was not actually His real Son] that

whosoever believes in Him…. [Believes what? Believes that He was

His Son though He was not His Son! Whosoever believes that lie]

should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Now if the first part of the text is so confusing, can you believe the

last part? When it says, “shall have everlasting life,” does it really

mean, “shall have everlasting death?” I mean Satan has fixed it so that

we really have no way of properly appreciating the message of this

verse! Now, we don’t really read it this way most of the time, but if we

tell the plain truth, is this not what a person is required to believe if he

believes in the doctrine of the trinity? And isn’t there a corresponding

feeling in the back of your mind if you are a Trinitarian which says,

“God is mysterious and incomprehensible. They say I ought to love

Him and they say He loves me. I cannot see it, but I am going to try to

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